German MMA History 101

Germany has a longstanding martial arts tradition. The country has
produced outstanding fighters like heavyweight world champion boxer
Max Schmeling and Olympic judoka Udo Quellmalz, along wtih Olympic
gold medalist and current Greco-Roman wrestling national team coach
Maik Bullmann over the past 100 years. As a mixed martial arts
nation, however, Deutschland has not made much of an
impression.

With the UFC making its first appearance in Cologne this Saturday,
Sherdog.com decided to shine some light on the little-known history
of German MMA.

The German Helio

Erich Rahn was the son of a notable Berlin tradesman whose
connections extended into China and Japan. When the imperial
Japanese ambassador visited the Rahn family, little Erich played
with the diplomat’s sons. They scrapped in a friendly manner and
quickly finished the German, despite his being much bigger
physically.

Katsukuma Higashi was for Rahn what Mitsuyo Maeda would become for
Helio Gracie 15 years later. Around the turn of the century, the
German teen-ager was so overwhelmed by the Hozan-ryu master’s
techniques that he quit his day job to study jiu-jitsu fulltime. In
1906, he opened the first German jiu-jitsu school in Berlin.

Four years later, he became the main martial arts instructor for
the Berlin police. Ultimately, he received a special teaching
position at the German capital’s military academy. Following World
War I, he toured Germany and challenged and defeated the country’s
best boxers and wrestlers.

Thanks to his efforts, jiu-jitsu soon became a competition sport
throughout Germany. At age 40, Rahn retired from active
competition. Unfortunately, World War II and the resulting
countrywide martial arts ban imposed by the Allies erased much of
his legacy from the history books. Few martial arts experts, even
in Germany, know of Rahn’s contribution to the sport.

From Fight Club to Free Fight

The beginnings of the present MMA scene in Germany are closely
connected to Andreas Stockmann. A former close combat instructor
for the German Democratic Republic, Stockmann fled the country
after breaking with the system. After arriving in Western Germany,
he participated and eventually promoted some of the first
underground fight events in 1990.

“The early years were crazy,” the now 47-year-old says. “We were
fighting bare-knuckle in old warehouses and abandoned factories.
The only reason the police didn’t arrest all of us was because they
liked the shows and attended them off-duty themselves.”

The climate became more organized when Stockmann founded the Free
Fight Association -- the first governing body for MMA events in
Germany -- in 1994 and started promoting official events.

“We were looking to turn away from the grimy image the sport had
over here,” Stockmann says. “That’s why the new millennium marked a
totally new beginning for us, as we adopted the Unified Rules of
MMA and started working more professionally.”

Since 2002, the FFA has held the Southern German MMA Championships
on an annual basis. In 2005, regional championships in the west and
north of the country were added, with the east following suit three
years later. The popular amateur MMA series New Talents was
installed, as well.

Notable Fighters

Peter
Angerer remains one of just two German fighters who have been
invited to take part in the prestigious Abu Dhabi Submission
Fighting World Championships and the only German to have faced both
an eventual K-1 champion, Semmy Schilt,
and a three-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, Marcio
Feitosa, in his career.

Mike Fridley/Sherdog.com

Mario Stapel was the first
German to fight in Shooto.

Meanwhile, Mario Stapel
became the first German fighter to compete in Japan for the Shooto
promotion back in 2002. He was credited as the first German BJJ
black belt competing in MMA. The 32-year-old Hessian joined
Matt
Hughes’ H.I.T. Squad last year following an abysmal 2007.
Stapel has already fought UFC veterans Orlando Weit
and Duane
Ludwig, plus “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 9 alumnus Andre
Winner.

The list of notable German gladiators, though short, does not end
there.

Chalid
Arrab has emerged as perhaps the most successful example of
German martial arts on the international circuit. The Golden Glory
member fought twice in the Pride “Bushido” series and holds a
knockout win against Fedor
Emelianenko’s longtime main training partner, Roman
Zentsov. “Die Faust” performed even better in K-1, where he won
the World Grand Prix in Las Vegas in 2006.

Finally, Dennis Siver
became the first German fighter to reach the UFC. The former
national kickboxing champion has racked up a trio of respectable
wins against Paul
Jenkins, Said
Khalilov and, most notably, “Judo” Jim
Wallhead. He was signed by UFC parent company Zuffa LLC in
early 2007, and although his record with the promotion stands at
2-3, he scored two spectacular knockouts against Naoyuki
Kotani and Nate Mohr.

Heart of German MMA Beats in East,
West

The “big six” German promotions reside exclusively in the eastern
and western parts of the country. Although the north and the south
are slowly following suit, they remain largely a no man’s land for
MMA.

Based out of Minden in North Rhine Westfalia, the Outsider Cup
stands as the country’s longest-running newcomer show. Fighters
like Siver, Nordin Asrih
and Andreas
Kraniotakes have passed through its ranks.

Darmstadt serves as the base for the Tempel Fight School and its
popular event series. The promotion traditionally puts on both MMA
and kickboxing bouts and has enjoyed regular appearances from the
likes of Martin
Zawada, Daniel
Weichel and Dawid
Bazaik.

Meanwhile, Fight Club Berlin, in the nation’s capital, has become
notorious for the rundown charm of its traditional venue -- the
Kesselhaus at the Kulturbrauerei. Steve
Mensing and Tomasz
Drwal have served as the promotion’s major stars throughout the
years. FCB also works together closely with outstanding Polish
stable Berserker’s Team.

The long-running Magdeburg event series La Onda was connected to
Fight Club Berlin via the WFCA East. Originally from a Thai boxing
background, promoter Sascha Poppendieck has embraced MMA more and
more in recent years. Grzegorz
Jakubowski, Andre
Reinders and Maik
Stumbries have fought many wars inside the La Onda ring.

Last but definitely not least, the Free Fight Championship
represents central Germany out of Leipzig. The promotion, run by
heavyweight turned promoter Marko ZschÃ¶rner, traditionally
attracts the biggest crowds and has produced some top prospects in
Peter
Sobotta, Sebastian
Kliesch and Lars
Rooch.

Optimistic Outlook

The German MMA landscape certainly appears to be changing.

“Much has changed in the past 24 months,” Willy Steinky -- the
founder of GroundandPound.de, Germany’s leading MMA Web site --
told Sherdog.com. “For many years, German fans didn’t have much to
cheer about when it comes to how our fighters have fared
internationally, but right now, there is a new spirit of optimism
going through the country.”

It should be interesting to see how long it takes Germany to catch
up to Europe’s leading mixed martial arts nations like England,
Russia, France and Sweden. Can the new generation link to the
legendary achievements of Schmeling and Quellmalz in the boxing
ring and on the judo mat?

“New shows are popping up left and right, and there is a new
generation of fighters who have grown up with the sport and who are
showing a lot of potential to exceed the achievements of their
predecessors,” Steinky adds. “Fighters like Alan Omer,
Peter
Sobotta, Dawid
Bazaik, Pascal
Krauss, Nico Penzer or Benjamin
Brinsa are still very young but are already showing a lot of
promise.”